Struggles, no answers for shooting victim, 1 year later

EL CAJON  The vision in his right eye is all but gone. The hole in the roof of his mouth prevents him from eating solid food. And the singing voice that used to entertain guests at weddings and parties has been stripped away, replaced by slurred speech that is difficult to understand.

Martin Hana, who was shot in the face on Aug. 6, 2011, by a suicidal gunman has undergone some 35 surgeries in the past year. He is shown here at his family's El Cajon home.
— Sean M. Haffey

+Read Caption

Martin Hana, who was shot in the face on Aug. 6, 2011, by a suicidal gunman has undergone some 35 surgeries in the past year. He is shown here at his family's El Cajon home.
— Sean M. Haffey

Remembering Officer Henwood

The one-year anniversary of San Diego police Officer Jeremy Henwood’s death will be recognized on Monday.

Henwood will be honored by police and the organ recovery group Lifesharing, and a Donate Life Rose Parade float bearing his photo will be unveiled.

His parents will honor him with a service in Ottawa, Canada, at the church Henwood was baptized in.

The physical limitations serve as a constant reminder of the nightmare that unfolded in the parking lot of an El Cajon-area In-N-Out Burger one year ago. Martin Hana had just gotten into his parked car with a female friend, anticipating the first bite of the warm burger in his hand, when a suicidal gunman shot him in the face.

Dejon White, 23, went on to fatally shoot San Diego police Officer Jeremy Henwood in City Heights before being gunned down by police shortly after in a standoff the afternoon of Aug. 6, 2011.

The bullet shattered Hana’s face “into a thousand pieces,” as one doctor told him, leaving a man broken in both body and spirit.

“Why did I get shot? Why did this happen to me?” the 24-year-old asked, his eyes flashing during an interview last week. “A lot of people were at In-N-Out. It was busy. Why me?”

It’s a question that investigators and even White’s family have been unable to answer, and one that haunts Hana every day.

Hana fled war-torn Iraq by way of Jordan in 2006 and joined his large Chaldean family in El Cajon. He earned money working as a contractor for the U.S. Army, translating and helping teach them about Iraqi customs. He also was hired to play the flute and drums and sing at Chaldean celebrations throughout the East County, home to one of the largest populations of Iraqi Christians in the nation.

Now, his weeks are a painful blend of surgeries, doctor appointments and hospital stays.

The bullet pierced his left cheekbone, sheared across the top of his mouth and exited his right jaw, sending bone fragments every which way. He has undergone at least 35 surgeries, including the reconstruction of his jaw using bone from his hip and metal.

He continues to face a series of complicated surgeries to rebuild his mouth. A segment of bone from his leg could be used to form his maxilla, which would then allow dental implants for a top row of teeth.

He eats through a feeding tube, although he can drink through his mouth.

“I want to be normal like everyone else,” he said.

At the two-story home he shares with his parents and other siblings, he spends much of his day in a recliner chair pulled close to the large screen television, playing the video game “Call of Duty.”

He was denied Social Security assistance, for reasons he can’t articulate, and his disabilities have left him unable to work.

The clean-cut image seen in older photos has been replaced by a beard that covers much of the scarring on his jaw, and a shock of long, red hair tells of infrequent hair cuts, something that irritates his hairdresser sister.

Hana has just stopped caring, the sister said. She described her younger brother as apathetic, depressed and angry — characterizations he didn’t contest.

“I don’t feel nothing,” Hana said in broken English. “Right now, I have a dead heart.”

The sister, who didn’t want her name published, has taken much of the responsibility for his care — keeping track of doctor appointments, dealing with bills and paperwork — and the task has left her overwhelmed. Many of the medical bills are being paid through a victim’s assistance program, but she said doctors have told her that the family would have to pay for some future surgeries.

The violent incident has shaken Hana’s security in the U.S., a country he viewed as “the safest place in the world.”

“I want to know, where did (White) get the gun? I came to America for peace,” Hana said.

Still, the memory hasn’t kept Hana from the scene of the crime. He has since returned to In-N-Out — not for a meal, but for a drink.